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This article is about the blood elf playable race. For blood elves in general, see blood elf.

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For nearly 7,000 years, high elven society centered on the sacred Sunwell, a magical fount that was created using a vial of pure arcane energy from the first Well of Eternity. Nourished and strengthened by the Sunwell’s potent energies, the high elves’ enchanted kingdom of Quel’Thalas prospered within the verdant forests north of Lordaeron.

Racial mount

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Long ago the exiled high elves landed on the shores of Lordaeron. They struck out to find a new home, and after many battles with the trolls, established the kingdom of Quel'Thalas. Using a vial of sacred water stolen from the first Well of Eternity, the high elves created a fount of mystical power at a convergence of ley energies in Quel'Thalas. They named this fountain the Sunwell. Its potent arcane magic fed and strengthened the high elves, and soon the wondrous city of Silvermoon was established.

Protected by a magical barrier, the high elves enjoyed peace for roughly four thousand years, but that peace was not meant to last. The Amani trolls gathered an immense army and assaulted the elven kingdom. Vastly outnumbered, the high elves hastily struck an alliance with the human nation of Arathor. The elves taught a small number of humans how to wield magic. In exchange the humans aided the elves in destroying the trolls' power base forever. Over the following years the high elves returned to their reclusive ways, but during the Third War, the diabolical Prince Arthas Menethil(under influence of the Lich King and following the Burning Legion orders) brought battle once again to their doorstep. Arthas required the power of the Sunwell to revive the necromancer Kel'Thuzad and raise him as a lich. He invaded Quel'Thalas and wiped out most of its population. In the end, even King Anasterian Sunstrider lay dead.

Additionally it became clear that the high elves had become addicted to the Sunwell's arcane energies. Now that the source of their magic was gone, the few remaining high elves quickly grew ill and apathetic. Prince Kael'thas, last of the royal line, returned from his studies in Dalaran to find Quel'Thalas in ruins. Thirsting for vengeance, he gathered the survivors, renamed them blood elves, and took a group of the strongest fighters to join Lordaeron's campaign against the Scourge.

Due to human prejudice, Kael'thas was forced to accept the assistance of Lady Vashj and her reptilian naga. When the humans discovered that the blood elves had been working with the naga, Kael'thas and the others were imprisoned and condemned to death. Lady Vashj soon arrived to set them free, leading them through a portal and into the broken wastes of Outland. There, the elves met the one being capable of putting an end to their hunger: the renegade night elf/demon, Illidan
Stormrage. Certain that the blood elves would die without Illidan's assistance, Kael'thas agreed to serve the Betrayer.

A lone representative, Rommath, was sent back to Azeroth with a message of hope for the blood elves remaining in Quel'Thalas: that one day Kael'thas would return to lead his people to paradise. Rommath had made great progress in teaching the blood elves advanced techniques to manipulate arcane energies. With renewed purpose, the blood elves have rebuilt the city of Silvermoon, though it is powered by volatile magics. Emboldened by the promise of Kael'thas' return, the weary citizens of Quel'Thalas now focus on regaining their strength, even as they forge a new path into an uncertain future.[2](TBCMan 12, 13)

At the bidding of his new master, the wayward prince eventually returned to Azeroth and seized the site of the Sunwell, hoping to use the fount as a means to usher Kil’jaeden into the world. Ultimately, Kael’thas was slain before his recklessness could bring ruin to Azeroth. In the wake of Kil’jaeden’s defeat, the draenei prophet Velen purified the Sunwell with the Light-infused heart of a fallen naaru, transforming the fount into a source of both holy and arcane energies.

Inspired by the Sunwell’s rebirth, the blood elves have since entered into a shining new era in their ancient race’s history. Although some elves remain hesitant to abandon their dependence on arcane magic, others have embraced change for the betterment of Quel’Thalas. Yet only time will tell if the blood elves can avoid repeating the tragic mistakes of their past.[3]

Though not normally advertised, starting blood elf characters can use an Orb of Translocation to get to the entrance of Undercity. The Orb works both ways, so characters can easily travel between the two capitals without having to go through the Plaguelands, which are much higher level zones than the Undead and Blood Elf starting areas. Note that Blood Elf players begin with a "Friendly" status with the Forsaken.

Males of the race are tall and slender, standing above the average human, and characterized by a lean, athletic musculature, making them seem somewhat thin when compared to larger races such as orcs. Females stand somewhat shorter, just above a human male in height, and have slender, delicate builds. They have a wide range of hair colours spanning from charcoal black to nearly white and a spectrum of skin colours ranging from pale to tan to ruddy. Blood elves have very long and thin ears, however their ears differ greatly from a night elves. The ears of a blood elf point vertically, whereas a night elf's ears point behind them. Blood elves also have eyebrows that extend well off of their face like whiskers. Both males and females are what would typically be considered exceptionally beautiful, with chiseled, refined features; males can also sport some facial hair, in the form of goatees. Their eyes glow green due to the influence of the fel energies they turned to with the destruction of the Sunwell.

The past few years have seen unprecedented changes within the eternal land of Quel'Thalas. The blood elves, following the will of their crazed leader Kael'thas Sunstrider channeled dangerous chaotic magics to transform their sacred Sunwell into a gateway of unspeakable evil. While Kael'thas and his demonic masters were eventually defeated, a different kind of transformation occurred within the Sunwell itself, as a dying Naaru sacrificed its life essence to reignite the Sunwell into a fount of holy energy.

Now the blood Elf regent Lor'themar Theron sees a new hope on the horizon for his people. Over time, the Sunwell's light could cure the blood elves of their cursed state, but many still cling to the arcane powers they procured and are hesitant to relinquish them. As one of the remaining blood elves, you must fight to protect Quel'Thalas and help redeem the soul of your ancient people.

- in-game voice-over

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This is the pre-0400 Cataclysm intro.

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For nearly seven thousand years, the High Elves cultivated a shining magical kingdom deep within the forests of northern Lordaeron. But five years ago, the undead Scourge invaded Quel'Thalas and drove the Elves to the brink of extinction. Led by the evil Death Knight Arthas, the Scourge destroyed the mystical Sunwell, thereby severing the Elves from the source of their arcane power. Though the scars of that conflict are evident, the remaining Elves have banded together and retaken much of their homeland. Calling themselves “blood elves”, these grim survivors are committed to regaining the vast powers they once commanded. Inspired by the leadership of their beloved prince, Kael'thas Sunstrider, the Blood Elves now seek out new sources of arcane magic and the means of defending their land against the undying horrors of the Scourge.

The starting clothes for blood elves vary depending on the class, for example, the caster classes, like mages, priest and warlock begin with a robe (each one resemble the colors of the class, i.e: red for warlock)
while the melee classes begins with a war-like armor, made of mail, linked on the middle (for paladins) or made of leather with a bit of body armor for hunters and rogues.

The main colors for a blood elf's clothing are red, white, orange, green, blue and sometimes purple.

Most of the blood elf magisters use robes, with different colors, like red, green, and purple.

Arcane Torrent comes as a natural manipulation of Arcane energies from the Sunwell and allows the elves to tap into and unleash the magic that is their birth right. The elves have long delved into the magical and arcane as evident by their cultural centerpiece, the Sunwell. Thus, they have developed a natural Arcane Affinity as a result of the well's magical presence, making the blood elves naturally skilled with arcane arts such as Enchanting. The elves' constant exposure to magic also gave them a natural defense against many kinds of magical manipulation, granting them a natural Magical Resistance.

This article or section includes speculation, observations or opinions possibly supported by lore or by Blizzard officials. It should not be taken as representing official lore.

It is also quite likely that the decision was made to reflect the magic nature of the blood elves as all their classes use some kind of magical powers. (With the possible exception of rogues, although that class' description refers to them using a 'touch' of mysticism. Also rogues can be explained as a type of ranger.) Additionally, blood elves generally prefer to engage enemies at range - only three of their classes are melee fighters. Also, Mana Tap would not work with rage. However, with the recent addition of the death knight's runic power mechanic, this is no longer justification, as Arcane Torrent awards the very similar depleting-with-time resource of runic power, though runic power is magical, and not emotional energy.

The racial mount for the blood elf is called the hawkstrider, although at first they were named 'cockatrices' as announced by GameSpot.[5] Blood elf paladins (Blood Knights) have a darker version of the charger that is black with bronze and red armor.

It is interesting to note that the female blood elf dance is derived from the dance routine in the music video for Britney Spears' song "Toxic", which lyrics happen to be a very spot-on description of the magical addiction blood elves suffer. The male blood elf dance is almost exactly identical to the dance that Napoleon does in the movie Napoleon Dynamite.[6]

Contrary to popular belief, blood elves still have a strong affinity with nature, especially the Farstrider rangers. Like the quel'dorei before them, the sin'dorei have druids, but they are not the same as kaldorei or tauren druids; the blood elf variety of druids are closer to traditional "medieval" druids, working to conserve and maintain the natural environment of Quel'Thalas. While most cannot shape-shift, they share some of the same druid spells such as Speak with Plants. However, there is at least one shape-shifting druid (High Botanist Freywinn).

Blood elf NPCs are the only Horde race that do not call out for help when an Alliance player attacks them. This is most likely due to an oversight by Blizzard during production of The Burning Crusade. Getting too close to or attacking a blood elf NPC will still summon guards to protect the town or city.

Blood Elf guards in Silvermoon City and other parts of Quel'Thalas have a distinctly different model and portrait than those used by playable blood elves and by other blood elf and high elf NPCs; their models were not updated from the ones used in the Burning Crusade beta. They share animations with male night elf models and have unique aggro and death sounds.

Blood elf guards are the only guards with mana.

All blood elf guards are male unlike guards for most other races of Azeroth, except for Ironforge guards. Conversely, all night elf guards happen to be female.

Although blood elf eyes supposedly glow green, their model's eyes do not actually glow in the dark. Possibly an oversight.

According to the WoW Census, there are just as many Night Elf characters as there are Blood Elf character, both sides equaling up to 17% of both the Alliance, and Horde's total player count.

Roleplaying a blood elf...now there's a tricky subject to speak about. One way that makes it easy is to think of a nobleman or a nobleman's guard; they speak what some might call a "royal language". Most of their words are formal, especially to those of their own kind or the Forsaken, as the Forsaken are their close allies. As for their beliefs, the blood elves mainly have a faith in the Arcane as well as The Light. They hold a grudge against their high elf brethren as well as their night elf cousins. Even with this hatred, the blood elves are more like the high elves than one might think.